Web inspection and repair machine with retractable inspection zone

Abstract

A web processing machine permitting inspection and repair of a roll of web material includes an inspection zone vertically juxtaposed to a splicing zone. The inspection zone is structured to be removed from the juxtaposed position to a retracted position in which the splicing zone is exposed to permit an operator to perform a modification of the web without having to substantially move physically from the position in which the operator was located to perform inspection while the machine is running.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to web inspection and converting machines which are adapted to perform various process steps on an elongate web. The machine typically has an unwind mandrel and a rewind mandrel, and the web, which is provided initially in the form of a coil or roll of web material which can be fitted on the unwind mandrel. The web is then strung through various possible combinations of devices, such as idler rolls, error detectors, splicers, die cutters, print heads, web slitters and sheeters. Slitting the web may be required for a sequence of images, with two or more images located across the web. Inspection of the moving web can be done electronically or visually with the assistance of a stroboscope, or vision or video system that samples the moving web. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION [0002] In conventional web inspection machines, regardless of the means of error detection, the fundamental requirement is to locate the position of an error a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] This invention permits the inspection zone to be located in close proximity to the slitting and rewinding areas for common viewing during normal running of the machine, but also allows the operator to repair a fault which has just been brought forward to the fault splicing table without substantially having to physically move along the machine to go from an inspection zone to a fault splicing table. Since the inspected web does not have to travel around the unwind roll to reach the fault splicing table, there is permitted the processing of very much larger unwind rolls and rewind rolls through the machine.

[0026] (j) second control means adapted, upon detection of a flaw at the inspection zone, and upon braking of the web to a standstill, to move said support structure away from its essentially juxtaposed position with respect to the splicing area in such a fashion as to expose the splicing area for use by the operator to perform a repair, verification, or any type of modification, without having to substantially move physically from the position in which the operator was located to perform inspection while the machine was running.

Problems solved by technology

If the error passes by the splice station it cannot be brought back to the splicing area because the machine is not capable of reversing the movement of the web.

While the web flow path in this machine design has been used in many thousands of machines, it suffers from drawbacks with respect to the manufacturing and processing demands of industry today.

Firstly, the industry is demanding that web inspection machines be capable of handling much larger unwind rolls.

Since, in the web flow path of the machine shown in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,230, the web travels from the inspection zone around the unwind roll to reach the downstream fault splicing table at the left-hand side of the machine, making the unwind roll larger would force the machine designer to raise the inspection zone to an impractical height.

Secondly, the industry is also demanding that web inspection machines be capable of rewinding much larger rolls for later delivery in larger volumes to clients.

This need to move back and forth between the inspection zone and the fault splicing area can be quite time consuming, especially if there are many faults to correct in the unwind roll or in the web, which are caused during subsequent downstream imaging or converting processes or functions occuring upstream of the inspection zone.

However, this option is often compromised by another function of the machine, for example, in line imaging or converting or slitting of the web just prior to passing into the machine rewind.

Also, a reversing machine can often encounter difficulties with web guiding.

This method requires the addition of considerable web length to the machine at very considerable machine and web cost.

Also, when the shuttle mechanism of the double festoon is activated, web guiding difficulties are often encountered.

Also, this method often puts unacceptable limitations on the types of materials that can be processed and the diameters from which and to which they can be processed.

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